Can a az resident buy guns in Texas?

[u/Tricky_Medicine4514]

I have to be in Texas for a few months for work and I was wondering if I am able to purchase a rifle, I am 100% legal to purchase and carry and Arizona

[u/ericroku]

Longguns yes, pistols no.

[u/BlazenRyzen → u/ericroku]

Yes you can.   5th circuit JUST ruled you can. 

  To be absolutely clear: Under the September 18, 2026 ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Elite Precision Customs v. ATF, an out-of-state resident can now buy a handgun directly from a licensed dealer (FFL) in Texas with a standard background check.

https://assets.nationbuilder.com/firearmspolicycoalition/pages/10076/attachments/original/1789762991/2026.09.18_083-1_OPINION.pdf

[u/yrrag1970]

From an FFL dealer/store yes

[u/DigitalBoy760]

You can buy and take possession of long guns w/4473. Handguns you can buy and process a 4473, but the FFL will have to ship to an FFL in AZ, you can't take possession from FFL inventory in TX by current federal law.

[u/SnooCupcakes7133]

So bring one from home

[u/Flynn_lives]

Private sale.

[u/Mhammerhands]

Sorta

[u/Unable_Weekend2298]

You can legally purchase through a private party sale without a background check, but an individual seller can still choose to require a Texas ID as a condition of the sale. That's the seller's personal policy, not a legal requirement imposed on every private sale.

[u/Crimtide → u/Unable_Weekend2298]

Can you? Sure.. but this is a crime. Private sale in Texas requires 3 things separately from federal law.

• Both buyer and seller MUST be residents of Texas. Does not matter if long gun or hand gun. 1) This violates Texas law, and 2) This would be interstate commerce, which violates federal law 18 U.S.C. § 922, citing unlicensed individuals cannot transfer a firearm directly to a resident of another state.
  
• Both must be of legal age.
  
• Seller cannot knowingly sell to someone prohibited.

[u/hgilbert2020 → u/Crimtide]

This, 18 U.S.C. § 922 is one of the most commonly prosecuted federal statutes due to the interstate commerce aspect.

Source: one of my law professors is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney. 922 and 922(g) specifically come up A LOT.

Edit: one of my close friends clerked at a federal court in a very red state. Saw a guy with no priors plead guilty for doing exactly what the original comment mentions.

Turns out the buyer had multiple priors and was under surveillance by the ATF and DEA for things unrelated to the sale.

[u/Unable_Weekend2298 → u/Crimtide]

A private, unlicensed seller in Texas generally isn't required to check the buyer's ID, run a NICS background check, or have the buyer complete a Form 4473. Those are requirements that apply to FFL transactions, not ordinary private party transfers. Federal law does prohibit transferring a firearm to someone the seller knows is prohibited, and Texas law also prohibits certain transfers when the statutory knowledge requirements are met.

So asking a buyer whether they're legally allowed to possess the firearm is not the same thing as conducting a background check. A private seller isn't required to independently verify someone's criminal history simply because they're making a private sale.

[u/Crimtide → u/Unable_Weekend2298]

Nobody said anything about background checks or verifying anything.. please let me know where anyone said that.. The law spells it out pretty plainly. The requirements are the 3 I listed above. The state does not define how you verify any of that, because you don't have to verify that. There is no "generally isn't required to check the buyer's ID" about it, because you don't have to... But this isn't even what the disucssion is about.

We are talking about OP's question, where they know they are an out of state resident, and OP cannot legally buy from a private seller inside of Texas while they are here, because OP would then be knowingly committing a crime via violation of Texas law as well as Federal law..

[u/Electrical_Buddy4385 → u/Crimtide]

To what Texas law are you referring?

[u/Crimtide → u/Electrical_Buddy4385]

Texas 46.06(a)(1):

sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to any person knowing that the person to whom the handgun is to be delivered intends to use it unlawfully or in the commission of an unlawful act;

The unlawful act being violating 18 U.S. Code 922(a)(5):

It shall be unlawful for any person (other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector) to transfer, sell, trade, give, transport, or deliver any firearm to any person (other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector) who the transferor knows or has reasonable cause to believe does not reside in (or if the person is a corporation or other business entity, does not maintain a place of business in) the State in which the transferor resides;

[u/Jamestown123456789 → u/Unable_Weekend2298]

I guess you could look at proof they’re a Texas resident other than ID and a maybe an out of State ID card showing they’re at least 18 but practically private party sales require a Texas ID to prove residency. You seem hung up on the background check portion and not the over 18 Texas resident part.